Eastern Michigan Athletics
Sunday, April 23
Kalamazoo, Mich.
1 p.m.
Eastern Michigan University
17-23, 8-4
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Western Michigan
16-19, 6-9
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Eastern Michigan
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Western Michigan
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Photo by: Steve King/KingStudios
Late Surge Spurns Eagles in Defeat to WMU
4/23/2017 4:42:00 PM | Baseball
The Broncos scored five in the 8th to get the win
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University baseball team could not overcome a late surge in a 6-1 defeat to Western Michigan University, Sunday afternoon, April 23, at Robert J. Bobb Stadium.
The Eagles (17-23, 8-4 MAC) and Broncos (16-19, 6-9 MAC) were deadlocked at one in the bottom of the eighth inning before WMU exploded for five runs to storm ahead for the win.
The pitching staff cruised through the first seven innings, only allowing one run until the eighth inning. Leading the way was the starter, junior Brent Mattson (Canton, Mich.-Canton), who earned a no decision after going the first 5.2 innings, only allowing a run on eight hits with five strikeouts.
The offense tallied six hits on the day, led by two-hit days from seniors Marquise Gill (Paw Paw, Mich.-Paw Paw) and Jeremy Stidham (Colorado Springs, Colo.-Sand Creek (Colby C.C.)), with Stidham picking up the only RBI on the day with an RBI single. Sophomore Drake Lubin (West Bloomfield, Mich.-Walled Lake Northern) finished with a double, his second of the season, as well as the only run scored.
WMU struck first in the first inning, getting a run on three hits, to take the early lead. While EMU's offense only tallied three hits in the first five innings, Mattson was stout on the mound, rebounding with four scoreless frames in a row, including four strikeouts, to keep it a 1-0 game into the sixth inning.
The Eagles caught a huge break in sixth, when a pair of fly balls to center dropped in after the centerfielder had a tough time with the sun. The first misplayed ball turned into a runner on second with no outs. Three batters and two walks later, EMU had them loaded for Stidham, who flew one out to medium center. After the ball dropped in, Lubin scored from third to tie the game at one apiece. With the bases still loaded, WMU turned its third double play of the day to maintain the tie.
Mattson continued on into the bottom of the sixth, getting the first two outs before allowing runners to first and second. Freshman James Harness (Huber Heights, Ohio-Wayne) then came on from the pen, and got the strikeout to end the threat. The Eagles countered by getting runners to second and third with just one out in the top of the seventh, but WMU was able to work its way around it, getting two groundouts to keep the deadlock into the stretch.
Harness continued to carve in the seventh, sending the Broncos down in order to send it to the eighth. There, the Broncos bats came alive, springing for five runs on seven hits to take the commanding 6-1 lead into the final inning. EMU went three-up, three-down in the top of the ninth to end the game and seal the five run defeat.
Eastern returns to the diamond next week, Wednesday, April 26, for a midweek contest against the University of Notre Dame. First pitch against the Fighting Irish is set for a 6:05 p.m. first pitch.
The Eagles (17-23, 8-4 MAC) and Broncos (16-19, 6-9 MAC) were deadlocked at one in the bottom of the eighth inning before WMU exploded for five runs to storm ahead for the win.
The pitching staff cruised through the first seven innings, only allowing one run until the eighth inning. Leading the way was the starter, junior Brent Mattson (Canton, Mich.-Canton), who earned a no decision after going the first 5.2 innings, only allowing a run on eight hits with five strikeouts.
The offense tallied six hits on the day, led by two-hit days from seniors Marquise Gill (Paw Paw, Mich.-Paw Paw) and Jeremy Stidham (Colorado Springs, Colo.-Sand Creek (Colby C.C.)), with Stidham picking up the only RBI on the day with an RBI single. Sophomore Drake Lubin (West Bloomfield, Mich.-Walled Lake Northern) finished with a double, his second of the season, as well as the only run scored.
WMU struck first in the first inning, getting a run on three hits, to take the early lead. While EMU's offense only tallied three hits in the first five innings, Mattson was stout on the mound, rebounding with four scoreless frames in a row, including four strikeouts, to keep it a 1-0 game into the sixth inning.
The Eagles caught a huge break in sixth, when a pair of fly balls to center dropped in after the centerfielder had a tough time with the sun. The first misplayed ball turned into a runner on second with no outs. Three batters and two walks later, EMU had them loaded for Stidham, who flew one out to medium center. After the ball dropped in, Lubin scored from third to tie the game at one apiece. With the bases still loaded, WMU turned its third double play of the day to maintain the tie.
Mattson continued on into the bottom of the sixth, getting the first two outs before allowing runners to first and second. Freshman James Harness (Huber Heights, Ohio-Wayne) then came on from the pen, and got the strikeout to end the threat. The Eagles countered by getting runners to second and third with just one out in the top of the seventh, but WMU was able to work its way around it, getting two groundouts to keep the deadlock into the stretch.
Harness continued to carve in the seventh, sending the Broncos down in order to send it to the eighth. There, the Broncos bats came alive, springing for five runs on seven hits to take the commanding 6-1 lead into the final inning. EMU went three-up, three-down in the top of the ninth to end the game and seal the five run defeat.
Eastern returns to the diamond next week, Wednesday, April 26, for a midweek contest against the University of Notre Dame. First pitch against the Fighting Irish is set for a 6:05 p.m. first pitch.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: LAIO (1-0)
L: Harness, James (2-5)
Batting:
2B: Lubin, Drake 1
RBI: Stidham, Jeremy 1
SH: Hager, Devin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Lubin, Drake 1
HBP: Montgomery, John 1 ; Gill, Marquise 1
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Batting:
2B: SMITH 1 ; MILLER 1 ; ALLISON 1 ; FORESTELL 2
RBI: SMITH 2 ; MILLER 1 ; ALLISON 2 ; FRANK 1
SH: SMITH 1 ; NELSON 1
Base Running:
RUNS: STONE 1 ; SMITH 1 ; MILLER 1 ; FORESTELL 1 ; HENDERSON 1 ; FRANK 1
CS: MILLER 1
HBP: VOGELMEIER 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballC/OF
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